Integration is defined by the dictionary as combine (one thing) with another so that they become a whole.

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" (I. Smuts).

What is being integratedListed below are the many types of things that the organization needs to integrate:

Estimating, Budgeting and financing

Planning

Maintenance

Operations

etcetera

Knots in the Organization"We learn the rope of life by untying its knots" -- Jean Toomer.

Problems
sometimes manifest themselves as "knots." Knots can be tight or loose;
deliberate or accidental; composed of many ropes or just one; and
visible or concealed. Regardless, all knots require focus, patience and
finesse in order to be untangled. In my experience working with
different organizations, I have found that knots tend to arrange
themselves in five areas.

1. Financial KnotsHere are some examples of financial knotty-problems I have seen organizations try to untangle:

Budget deficits

Inaccurate estimates

Inefficient operations

Outdated forecasts

Low Return on Investment (ROI)

The
untangling of these financial knots cannot be rushed. If we are not
careful, the knot may tighten and even more effort will be required.

2. Legal KnotsHere is a list of some examples of legal knotty-problems I have seen organizations try to untangle:

Unsafe site conditions

Escalating lawsuits

Unfavourable contract terms

Unidentified risks

Misaligned policies

Legal
knots are particularly insidious. Sometimes the organization may not
even be aware that the knot exists until it suddenly reveals itself.

3. Political knotsHere is a list of some examples of political knotty-problems I have seen organizations try to untangle:

Low staff morale

Uncommitted (and opaque) leadership

Dissatisfied stakeholders

Organizational silos

Poor reputation

Political
knots are often made up of many smaller knots that come together to
form a tightly woven mass. Each individual knot needs to be unravelled
with mindfulness of all the other interconnected knots.

4. Technical & Physical KnotsHere is a list of some examples of technical knotty-problems I have seen organizations try to untangle:

Aged and obsolete assets

High levels of deferred maintenance

Unreliable equipment

Retiring technical experts

Unknown asset failure modes

Technical
knots often require an information gathering exercise to reveal the
deeper structures of the knot before trying to untangle the outer
threads.

5. Administrative & HR KnotsHere
is a list of some examples of administrative and human resource (HR)
type knotty-problems I have seen organizations try to untangle:

Incomplete records

Disjointed systems

Inconsistent data

Unskilled staff

Overly competitive labour market

Knotty problems almost always have more than one cause and generally require more than a simple solution.

Knots hold Negative Energy that Needs to Teased Out...The
knot is what holds the problem together. The knot is therefore the
manifestation of the energy in the problem. By untying the knot the
negative energy is released.

It
may be helpful to look at the knot from multiple angles to get a sense
of its internal structure before attempting to pull at one of the
threads:

The number of threads that make up the knot

The tension in the knot (how tight)

Whether there are multiple knots wound together or interconnected somehow

The type of knot(s) weave - A reef knot? A sheepshank? A bowline? A clove hitch?

The age of the knot - is it new or has been tightly wound for a long time. They say that rope has memory in its coils.

Should
the organization start with the looser threads first and then proceed
to the tighter ones? Or, should the organization pull on all the
threads at the same time?

If
we do not approach the knot with the right skill and finesse, the
organization may inadvertently tighten the knot or create a new knot.

What knots have you had to untangle in your organization? What approach worked best to loosening your knots?

Management of IntegrationListed below are some of the keys steps and core principles in the management of the integration process in an organzation:

A process is set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs

Fig.
Asset management requires the integration of several activities to
realize value from assets. ISO 55001 helps with the alignment.

Fig. Some examples of political "knots" that trap negative energy in the organization and need to be untangled with finesse.

Fig.
Clearly defined roles, responsibilities and authorities are one of the
signs of good leadership. In accordance with ISO 55000, these must be
coupled with appropriate structures and relationships to establish the
asset.

Fig.
Is your department pushing on a rope or caught in a tug of
war? Functional silos will defeat the organization. All kinds of
rope wars are futile. Once we put the ropes away we can focus on
integration, collaboration and alignment are some of the critical
success factors.How do you get all your departments to alignt to align to the risk register.

Fig. Asset management requires integration across all the W-Questions.

Fig.
As we dig deeper into ISO 55001 we find the rich fabric of concepts
woven into the seven chapters. This is where the nuances and
complexities of asset management start to reveal themselves.

Fig. The journey to asset management maturity may sometimes feel like a maze.

Fig. The journey to asset management maturity may sometimes feel like a knot that needs to be untied.